Abbotsford Bujinkan
Taka-Seigi Dojo

Dignity     Courage     Justice

The Five Precepts of Ninpo

-To know that patience comes first.

-To know that the path of mankind comes from justice.

-To renounce greed, laziness, and obstinacy.

-To recognize sadness, worry, and resentment as natural and to seek the immovable heart.

-To not stray from the path of loyalty and brotherly love and to delve always deeper into the heart of budo pursuing the ways of both the literary and martial arts with balanced determination.


-Toda Shinryuken Masamitsu

Class Schedule

Wednesdays 7pm-9pm (Bow in at 7:30pm)

We are a private martial arts club, and training is by personal reference or invitation only. Individuals interested in becoming new students may possibly be accepted after a personal interview. Sorry, just too many weirdoes out there. Please be aware, only those of 19 years of age and older, and free of a criminal record will be considered.

Our home dojo is a small classroom suitable to our needs. We utilize mats, lighting and privacy for much of our practice sessions. At other times we venture outdoors to allow the experience of varied terrain, lighting, and weather to augment our training.

I have no desire for a large numbers of students, but merely a few dedicated people willing to help each other along the martial path.

 

The great outdoors is often our dojo for the summer months. It’s way less stuffy and it gives us the opportunity to follow in the spirit of Shinden Fudo Ryu, to utilize nature and be at one with the elements. What good are rolls, breakfalls and combat skills if you cannot put them to use outside of a padded dojo? We also get an opportunity to do a little more conditioning and exercise with parkland as our gymnasium. Nothing like a little “ninjer-cise”…

We are indoors for the darker winter months for safety’s sake. We’ll have to put the bigger long-range weapons away for a while but should still have lots of fun playing with and exploring some ideas and concepts I was exposed to while in Japan in September. Soke and the various senior instructors put great emphasis on the use of  kiyojutsu to subtly affect your opponent and defeat them through the use of natural movement and misdirection. This will take some time to understand, but it will be a fascinating study!

Firstly, be a little internet savvy – put a subject in your email message, otherwise my SPAM filter will just delete your message.

Secondly, seriously people… please thoughtfully consider whether you are interested in actual training before emailing or phoning. Training means that you will have to physically come to the dojo. Please don’t waste your own time, or mine with the mental equivalent of tire kicking. The class schedule is posted. Can you make the time in your life for the classes?

OK, small RANT here … If the most important question on your mind is, “How much are classes?”, please – don’t even bother to call. Because to have your first and most important question to be about the financial costs is not only a little rude but it also tells me that you are just not very serious in your interest. To ask such a question tells me that you are mainly looking for an excuse as to why you cannot train with us, it implies that the quality of the training and instruction must be secondary to you. These things (obviously, I hope) can only be determined by experiencing the class. What if I said, “It’s only $1 per year” but what I teach you is not only useless, but liable to get you killed. Or, maybe the training is really not much more than ritualized abuse! (By the way, both of these situations are sadly common in martial arts instruction.) Or maybe it’s really expensive, but I’ll turn you into Bruce Lee in 6 months. Which is the better deal? Maybe you need to figure that out before you decide it fits into your allowance. <rant off>

We’re friendly guys! (With a good sense of humor!) Please do not feel shy about contacting us regarding training opportunities if you think this is something for you. For other Bujinkan dojos in other areas please see our “Links” page below.

BTSD dojo around BC

BTSD Cloverdale-   Shidoshi Jim Eastgate   email

BTSD Newton-   Shidoshi-ho Stephen Miller   email

BTSD Vancouver-   Shihan Paul Mann   email

BTSD Williams Lake-   Shidoshi Chad Maltais   email

BTSD Hinton AB-   Shidoshi – Tim Brassard   email

BTSD Vernon-   Shidoshi – Ken Hospes   email

World Wide BTSD Dojo

Taka Seigi Hombu-   Shihan Philip Legare   Website

Other BC Bujinkan Dojos

Sunshine Coast, BC-   Shidoshi Mike Smith   website   email

Vancouver Island, BC-   Shidoshi-ho John Deveau   website   email

Victoria, BC-   Shidoshi-ho S. Silman   website   email

Want to include your group?   Contact us!

Bujinkan Related Websites

Official Bujinkan Website-   Bujinkan Hombu Dojo

Really good blogs to read-   Elizabeth’s   Duncan’s

Kutaki no Mura-   On-Line Bujinkan Discussion Forum

A More Trying Read-   Martial Arts Planet – Ninjutsu

I had the opportunity to return to Japan in November to renew my spirit, meet old friends and make some new ones. Thanks go to Mark and Carson for keeping things running so well while I was away! Here is a cool gift Hatsumi Sensei painted for my son – its a Ranchu goldfish, a type of which he is very fond.

Old Events and News

Shihan Shawn Gray will be visiting with us again in early January 2018.  The topic of study has yet to be announced, but it is certain be another excellent weekend. A formal announcement is forthcoming.

The Kunoichi Project occurred on the week of September 21st and 22nd in 2013. It was the fourth year of celebrating and investigating women in outdoor budo and other tactical training exercises. The Namiyama dojo hosted the event. The week ended with culminate with a seminar open to both men and women and featured 3 senior female Bujinkan practitioners. Read more here.

Sakura no Kaze, our own Canadian West Coast TaiKai and was held the long weekend in May 2013 on the 18h & 19th of May. Shawn Gray and Bill Brown both Japan resident Canadians shared the highlights of hombu training from spring of this year. It was a really good session and we were glad to host such wonderful people and instructors for the 4th year. 

Duncan Stewart was in town & hosted by Mike Smith of the Namiyama dojo. I was only able to take in a few hours this time, but it was awe inspiring and humbling. If half of us trained like Duncan, the word “ninjer” would never have appared on Bullshido…

Shihan Legare was in town for the weekend of July 20th to 22nd 2012. Once again, it was AWESOME! Thanks to shihan Paul Mann for putting it together!

In June 2012 on the 16th and 17, shihan Rob Renner was in town to provide his unique take on kinetics and movement in the art of Bujinkan budo taijutsu. Practical hints on proper distancing, how to walk and the concept of shiho dori were fundamental but valuable elements of the seminar. Thanks to Sadie Smith for putting this together.

The Abby BTSD hosted Sakura no Kaze for the third time! It took place May 12th and 13th at the Justice Institute of BC and should hopefully continue as an annual event a West Coast Canadian TaiKai. Instructors Craig Olson, Bill Brown and Shawn Gray presided. I have some limited video from hte even I hope to make available to participants.

The Heisei dojo hosted Kacem Zhougari on the weekend of April 7th & 8th 2012 in New Westminster. The focus was on Shinden Fudo Ryu, bojutsu, and tantojutsu. It was a great time, and mind was sufficiently blown while my body tried to accomplish the impossible!

The Namiyama dojo hosted an overnight tactical camping adventure at the end of summer!  It took place in the backcountry, in the mountains of the Sunshine Coast. Following this was a two-day seminar with 3 world-renowned jugodans at Whytecliff Park, in Horseshoe Bay, just around the corner from North Vancouver, BC.

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What is Budo Taijutsu About?

Budo Taijutsu is a combative (as apposed to sport) martial art system from Japan with authentic roots dating back several hundred years. Headed by grandmaster Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, the Bujinkan is comprised of nine separate ryu-ha or martial art traditions of the Japanese Ninja & Samurai. The Abby BTSD is an accredited Bujinkan dojo located in Abbotsford, British Columbia. We are under the direction of shihan Philip Legare, who currently resides in Yokota AFB, Japan.

Some people have unusual ideas of what modern ninjutsu may involve, usually based upon Hollywood stereotypes and very much out of date and skewed historical information. Consider, we are no more likely to teach assassination and sentry removal as “ninja techniques”, than than any modern Japanese art would teach execution as a reasonable response to insult or performance of seppuku as a set of “samurai skills”.

What we have distilled from ninjutsu, is the understanding that our survival is the overall goal, thus physical combat is to avoided as much as possible, and when it is engaged it should be done so in a subtle, powerful and efficient manner. Ideally the enemy shall be defeated before they even realize there has been any conflict, and we will gladly allow our enemy to perceive their own victory if it suits our needs.

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Our historical roots include six samurai and three ninja traditions. We study how to survive combat in the modern context by looking to the teachings of a bygone era. Everything from unarmed fighting, sword on sword, sticks, ropes, chains, knives, thrown weapons and firearms are considered and included. The perspective in our schools are pervasive in the teaching, our attitude, and the movement – it allows us to be subtle, clever and perplexing.

Our survival is the overall goal, thus physical combat is to avoided as much as possible, and when it is engaged it should be done so in a subtle, powerful and efficient manner. Ideally the enemy shall be defeated before they even realize there has been any conflict, and we will gladly allow our enemy to perceive their own victory if it suits our needs.

This is not a sport. Budo taijutsu is not really compatible with the concept of “sport martial arts”. The idea of having the most “points”, the most glamour, the most ego is in complete conflict with what we are attempting to teach. Do not make the error of confusing the lack of competition within the art as a lack of testing of its capabilities. Elements of budo taijutsu have been encorporated into the basic skill set of US Army and Special Forces, Israeli Army, and various US governments agency protocols. Bujinkan classes around the world are populated by police, security and military personnel – they come to us because what we do works.

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Taka-Seigi is shihan Legare’s “Budo Name“, a name given by soke Hatsumi to honor his warrior spirit and professional dedication. The name translates as “Hawk of Justice” .

What makes Taka-Seigi distinct from other Bujinkan dojos?

Hopefully, not too much!

While the nine schools on which it is based are hundreds of years old, the Bujinkan itself is a relatively young and rapidly growing martial arts organization. The unfortunate result of this has been that initially there were a lot of people with insufficient skill and knowledge passing themselves off as qualified instructors. This was particularly bad during the 80’s “Ninja Craze” and was a large part of the reason that the grandmaster chose to direct his attention to the broader concept of budo and distance himself from the ninja nutcakes that were causing problems. That has now begun to change and there are many very good teachers to be found within the Bujinkan organization. Good teachers should at minimum have a membership with the Bujinkan Shidoshi-kai licensing organization and have an ongoing relationship with the grandmaster via frequent visits to, or regular training with senior instructors who frequently visit Japan.

Shihan Legare’s story can be read on his own website. His Taka-Seigi dojo embodies all that goes on in a traditional Bujinkan dojo, and then often looks at the question of “How does this relate to the modern concept of combat?”. He refers to this idea as shinken gata, the real fight. Some might suggest that this is an excuse for “sloppy technique”, but the truth is the REAL fight IS messy and brutal, fraught with danger, pain and massive amounts of adrenaline.

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Classes are taught in a relaxed and co-operative manner. Class usually begins with a simple warm-up and stretch to reduce the chance for injury, and we often procede to work up a heavy sweat in exercises with a fairly direct relationship to training. Most classes will involve a period of ukemi training – that is practicing rolls and breakfalls so that you can train safely. Consider this; you may never get involved in an actual fight the rest of your days, but there is a pretty good chance that one day you will fall or trip. If only for this, studying budo taijutsu may save you broken bones or even your life!

Exploration and practice of our fundementals such as, basics of striking, grappling, and developing good movement patterns is often the next element of study. Shadow boxing or solo kata repetition is not a large part of Bujinkan methodology. More often, participants work together one-on-one (or two or three-on-one!) to explore the scope of the forms presented by the instructor. There are no weight classes, there is no division between senior and junior when we train. We are all together to share and learn.

Most forms are started slowly with the emphasis on correct and safe movement. Speed develops naturally with competence. Point-sparring does not exist for us. This is because a large part of sparring goes toward building ego, to make one feel superior to one’s training partners. This does not contribute to self-improvement, and in fact can cause a dangerous over-confidence. We do utilize sparring formats, but the emphasis is on the student learning to apply specific techniques or approaches to a less structured situation.

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Our curriculum is set, at least up to the level of 4th degree black belt, and draws on the fundamental teachings from these schools. The tenchijin no maki was established by Hatsumi sensei as the framework for instruction to blackbelt level. Gradings sometimes occur following a testing period, but commonly happen spontaneously with concensus of the instructors. The reason for this is not because we don’t test, but that the students are constantly being tested. All gradings received by students will be official and documented by certificates from hombu dojo in Japan.

Our “ranking system” sometimes puzzles outsiders, but is based on an historical Japanese method. It has nothing to do with modern Judo or Karate ranks. Basically, students (kyu grades) have a green belt, teachers (dan grades) have black belts. Ocassionally, a senior kyu grade student is awarded a brown belt to signify leadership duties within the club. Rank doesn’t mean anything at all outside the training halls, its just an acknowledgment by the teacher of the student’s dedication and ability. There are nine kyu grades and ten dan grades (with a further subdivision of 5 grades at 10th dan). It takes most people 3 to 5 years to obtain shodan, 1st level black belt.

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The answer will vary with the person you ask and the stage of their own training. Keep in mind, the reasons you start training are very often quite different from the reasons you keep training.

Many people initially come to the martial arts because they are seeking self-defense training – otherwise they might as well play soccer, right? They want self-defense skills because they have a fear of vulnerability on some level. The training allows them to face that fear, remove it, and gain confidence. Strangely, being confident does not necessarily require one to be competent leading to the lore of the blackbelt who gets beaten up in a bar fight… The next stage for the martial artist is where they loose their confidence by discovering their areas of incompetence. They must decide whether it is their chosen style, their instructor, or simply their own training that is at fault. They must then make a change, or give up on martial arts as a whole.

Along the way, people often find that certain aspects of training start to appeal to them as much as, or more than, the pursuit of self defense. They may find joy in competition, or learning to co-operate with others, increased ability to concentrate, camaraderie, physical fitness, or just personal development. This may seem like a paradox, to become a better person by learning physical skills that deal with how to hurt other people, but strangely enough it is exactly what happens to dedicated “martial artists”.

We try to cover a lot of ground in the Bujinkan, trying to avoid as many of the “traps” of traditional martial arts training as we can. Thus we train outdoors and in various conditions and on various surfaces. We deal with multiple opponents, poor visibility, ambush attacks and legal ramifications of self defense. And perhaps most importantly, we talk about developing awareness – your best bet to navigate potential violence safely.

There are many reasons to train in martial arts, some of them even valid 😉 Spend some time with yourself to determine what it is you are looking for in the martial arts. Then go spend some e-time with Marc MacYoung so that you can avoid getting fast-talked by a slippery budo salesman. With that knowledge, I hope you will come back here and think, “You know this Bujinkan stuff makes sense and appeals to me.”

– Chris Taylor February 2009

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How about learning how to strike without injuring yourself? What about escapes from holds? How to use a sword, or a knife, or how to defend yourself against them? What about situational awareness? How about learning how to warm up your body for exercise properly so you don’t cause permanent damage and make you old before your time? How about learning to use your entire body to provide power over larger and stronger opponents? What about learning what “Self Defense” really is, and how not to end up in jail or worse by making bad decisions.

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Togakure Ryu Ninpo – Hidden Door School

Gyokko Ryu Kosshijutsu – Jewel Tiger School

Shinden Fudo Ryu Dakentaijutsu – Immovable Heart School

Kukishinden Ryu Happo Hikenjutsu – Nine Demon Gods School

Gyokushin Ryu Ninpo – Jeweled Heart School

Koto Ryu Koppojutsu – Tiger Knocking Down School

Takagi Yoshin Ryu Jutaijutsu – High Tree, Raised Heart School

Gikan Ryu Koppojutsu – Truth, Loyalty and Justice School

Kumogakure Ryu Ninpo – Hiding in the Clouds School

Posing here at hombu dojo in Noda-shi, Japan with Nagato sensei after receiving his sandan (3rd degree black belt) in October 2002.

Shihan Chris Taylor

Shihan Taylor holds membership in the Bujinkan shidoshi-kai as an instructor under the Bujinkan Taka-Seigi banner. Shidoshi is the proper term for a licensed instructor in the Bujinkan dojo. Chris passed his godan test (also known as the sakki test) in Sept 2008 at the hombu dojo in Noda-shi Japan and his judan was awarded by Hatsumi soke in 2016. As members of the Bujinkan Taka-Seigi Dojo, we are honoured to have Shihan  Phillip Legare provide us direction regarding the teachings of soke Masaaki Hatsumi, grandmaster of the Bujinkan dojo in Noda-shi, Japan.

Mr. Taylor began training in the Bujinkan dojo in 1984 and has traveled numerous times to Japan to further his understanding of the art. He trained under shidoshi Scott White of Surrey, BC and various shihan who train regularly in Japan with the grandmaster. He opened the Abbotsford shibu (club) of the Bujinkan Taka Seigi Dojo in January 2005.

Please be aware that not all people who profess to be teaching the Bujinkan arts are legitimate instructors. The possession of this type certification identifies a person as having completed the requirements to teach.